Vei Long Silvertip?

So here is a funny thing...
I have been looking for my next brush and what will in all likelihood be my final brush acquisition in 2012 .
As I have been scouring the net, looking at Simpsons, Rooney's, M&F's... across soooo many vendors, my wife was watching me at times seeing my enjoyable frustration at what this choice will be (although she thought that this was a bit silly though).

To find sources of vendors that sell brushes, I also jumped into the Vendor Items for Sale forum here on B&B and went to the Gifts and Care website.
I was looking at the Vie Long brushes as they have really attractive handles (to me - I like their combination red acrylic look) which I commented on to my wife who happened to be in the room at the time.

Well here is the funny thing...
She ordered me a Vie Long Silvertip for me! She said that since I liked the handle (which she admitted she thought it was nice too) and I was a bit frustrated on what to do.
Here is the link: http://www.giftsandcare.com/en/cata...dger/silvertip-badger-shaving-brush-53mm.html
And here is a picture from the site:
I think I am happy (it looks like a beautiful brush from a quality company) - I just don't know much about this brush. Vei Long is known in these parts for their horse hair, but I haven't seen anything on their badgers - especially their Silvertip.
Anyone have any feedback/thoughts (I will only let her see the good stuff )?

I've got the El Toro Ganso that BullGoose sold for a while.

Not quite apples to apples as the ETG has a slightly smaller knot--but I think it is a great brush.

Even at a higher loft than seems to be the current rage, backbone is good and it should serve you well. I used it as my main brush for 6-8 months (rotating it out with a Semogue 830 and a 24 mm restore I did). Just picked up an RV/Shavemac custom that has displaced it somewhat, but it still gets rotated in. It has shed...maybe....2 hairs, and the red/white acrylic is retro cool.

I have the top of the line vie-long 16510 silvertip.It is very very soft,but very full as well.A high quality brush for sure...

I have the 2-band version of that brush and it is a great brush.

Vie-Longs are better known for their horse hair brushes (which suck IMHO) but their high end badgers are unknown gems.

This is listed as the 16510 but at a shorter loft (53mm vs 58mm). Glad to hear about the quality.

malocchio said:

I have the top of the line vie-long 16510 silvertip.It is very very soft,but very full as well.A high quality brush for sure...

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Thanks Greg.
Good to know.

Greg1911 said:

I have the 2-band version of that brush and it is a great brush.

Vie-Longs are better known for their horse hair brushes (which suck IMHO) but their high end badgers are unknown gems.

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She ordered me a Vie Long Silvertip for me!

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That means you can get one more brush in 2012 yourself now!

HMM interesting thought.
Although if I did she would probably swap out all my nice Feather blades with Merkurs without me knowing until it was too late

Oscroft said:

That means you can get one more brush in 2012 yourself now!

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cdrross said:

This is listed as the 16510 but at a shorter loft (53mm vs 58mm). Glad to hear about the quality.

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I have the 16510 with the 58mm loft. It is full and very soft. Blooms like no other. Best used for bowl lathering, but you can also do face lathering. The 53mm you get should be easier to use as it has more backbone. The handle is truly a beauty. Overall it is a wonderful brush and I use it once in a while with creams. It does not get more use as I normally face later with soaps and there the 58 mm loft does not come in handy.